


DMLM

by elliseleven (orphan_account)



Category: NoStranger (Video Game)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:01:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25589530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/elliseleven
Summary: We all know now what DMLM stands for, but what if Adam was lying to us? What if it meant something completely different, and it would ruin him if anyone found out about it?
Relationships: Adam Verdu & Player, Adam Verdu/Original Male Character
Kudos: 2





	DMLM

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NikaFlicka](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=NikaFlicka).



> thank you nika for coming up with the idea for this! it was pretty much just the alternative acronym for DMLM, but i wouldn't have written this if we hadn't joked about that, and i had so much fun writing this so thanks!

_ DMLM haha. I’ll take it from here. _

They saw the message come through on their phone, frowned, and quickly followed up with a reply.

_ DMLM? What does that mean? _

Adam froze in place. He knew exactly what the acronym meant. He said it in a moment of weakness, but he couldn’t let them know that. He had to think up something quick. Thankfully, he had always been good under pressure.

_ If I told you, I’d have to kill you ;) _

They bit back a laugh. They had to give it to him, Adam could be funny when he tried. They weren’t sure why he couldn’t just tell them though. It couldn’t be something that serious, right? Either way, they let him have the benefit of the doubt. Overthinking everything Adam said to them was exhausting to say the least.

_ Alright. I’ll forget about it then. Good luck with your talk. _

_ Thank you. I’ll speak with you soon. _

Adam put his phone back in his pocket and downed the rest of his beer. He’d been procrastinating on this for way too long. The person he wanted was right there. He couldn’t put it off any longer.

* * *

It had been a while since Adam had texted, and they were beginning to worry. They knew he must need his space for something like this, whatever this was, but they couldn’t help wondering if he was okay.

They sent a quick text then decided to hit the sack. It was coming up to midnight anyway, and they needed to wake up early for work tomorrow.

In the middle of the night, their phone started to ring.

They woke up in annoyance, wishing they’d turned down their phone volume before going to sleep. They didn’t recognize the number, but picked it up anyway. They had a feeling they knew who it was going to be.

“Hey, it’s me.” Yep, of course, it was Adam.

“Hey. What’s up? It’s really late.” 

They checked their phone screen which showed the time as 3:30am. Why was he still awake at this time?

“I know,” he chuckled. “I’ve just had a long night is all.”

“Oh, really? Any reason why?”

Just thinking about telling them made Adam’s face heat up. He was grateful that they couldn’t see him. He stumbled over his words before answering. “No reason…”

They grinned. They could tell there was more to it. “Are you sure? You can tell me anything, you know.”

I heard Adam sigh. He was clearly psyching himself up for this. “Well… Um…”

He tailed off, and they pouted. “Come on! Tell me!” They were getting overexcited, but couldn’t stop themself. They needed to know what had happened!

“Fine.” There was another sigh. “When we stopped talking last night, I was at a bar.”

“Okay. What about it?”

Adam couldn’t help but laugh at how persistent they were being. But it was working. “I wanted to talk to this… guy. Just to get to know him and stuff.”

They couldn’t stop a laugh from bubbling over. “Adam, that sounds like you wanted to get his number or something!”

“Uh… um, no! Actually,  _ he  _ came over to  _ me _ first!”

They shook my head, smiling. That was a lie. “Adam, you are a liar.”

“I’m not! I’m not gay either!”

Now, that took them by surprise. It was interesting how quick he was to defend himself over something no one had accused him of. “I didn’t say anything! Look, just chill out. You don’t like gay people. It’s cool, whatever.”

Adam was notably offended that they would think he was homophobic. He was quick to yet again defend his pride. “I love gay people. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, so you are into gay people.” 

Adam cleared his throat. Despite his window being open, it had begun to get pretty hot in his room. “I’ll have you know I’m 100% straight. Straight as a fucking ruler, my friend.”

They burst into laughter at the absurdity of Adam’s comment. He couldn’t be serious. “Oh my God, Adam…”

He sounded genuinely confused. “What?”

They took a while to calm down before they spoke. “Firstly, that was hilarious. Secondly, you know that there are bendy rulers, right? Like ones that  _ aren’t  _ straight?”

There was silence on the other end of the phone before he responded. “You got me there.”

“So you admit that you’re gay?”

Adam closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn’t believe that he was about to say this. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Yes! I knew it!”

He laughed. “Of course, you did.”

* * *

“So his name’s Michael, huh?”

“Yeah. I’ve… liked him for a while. We go to the same bar every weekend, but I just never had the courage to talk to him. Until last night.”

They would be lying if they said they weren’t happy for him. “That’s great!”

“Yeah.”

The conversation died down after that. They wanted to know more, but they knew not to push it. Even Adam just coming out and saying he was gay in itself must’ve taken its toll on him.

They checked their phone again. It was almost 5am. They began to yawn as if they’d only just realized how late it was

Adam yawn in return, and they giggled.

“You’re tired too?”

“Yeah,” he mumbled. “It’d probably be good if I slept.”

“Yeah. Me too. I’m supposed to be up for work in an hour though.”

“Oh, I’m sorry for keeping you up.”

“No worries. I wouldn’t have figured out what happened with you if I hadn’t stayed up.”

“True,” Adam laughed. “Alright, I’ll let you go then.”

“Okay.”

They were about to hang up the phone when they remembered something.

“Wait!”

Adam pulled his finger away from the end call button. “Yeah?”

They breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn’t hung up. This question wasn’t important, but it had been bugging them this whole time. “Before we go, what did DMLM stand for? You never told me.”

“Oh, that,” Adam chuckled awkwardly. He had hoped they wouldn’t ask him that. “It was nothing, really. Just something silly.”

“ _ Please _ tell me.”

Adam chuckled, knowing he couldn’t keep secrets anymore. “Alright, fine, but promise you won’t laugh.”

“As long as it’s something stupid like Does Michael Love Me then I promise.”

“Oh, jeez.”

They stifled a bark of laughter as they realized what this meant. He couldn’t be serious?! “Oh my God, is it really that?”

Adam nodded, his cheeks turning scarlet. “Uh, yeah, it is. I don’t even know why I said it. It was stupid.”

They shook their head. “It’s not! I mean, I guess it is a bit.” They were relieved to hear Adam laugh along with them. “But it’s cute how much you like him.”

He gave a nervous laugh. “Really?”

“Yeah,” they smiled. “And from the way you talked about him, I think the answer to that question is yes.”


End file.
